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Thursday, January 22, 2015

Antique Booth Projects and Update

So I haven't talked about the antique booth for awhile now. Overall, things just aren't going as well as I had hoped. When we started back in July, I hoped that I would at least make enough money to cover rent most months and have some months where I made a small profit. I knew that this was just a hobby for me and I wouldn't be able to put tons of time into it so I wasn't expecting a second income.

Turns out that I have only made money above rent three months out of the six so far and two of those months it was less than $10. I think this is for a few reasons: 1) I just don't have the time to decorate the booth seasonally or go in there and shuffle things around constantly, 2) I haven't had as much much time as I had hoped to search for and fix up new inventory, 3) The people visiting this antique mall just don't have my great taste. :) That last one is mostly a joke. But I have been surprised by some of the things that have gotten snatched up and some of the things that continue to sit there.

As I'm sure you can guess, all of this rambling is leading to the announcement that I have decided to walk away. I gave my notice last week and the booth will be closing at the end of February. Hopefully, someone else will have better luck in my space.

I did want to show you a couple more makeovers that I completed for it though. First up is this solid, metal filing cabinet.

I wish I had taken more before photos for you. The major issue was that whoever had painted the cabinet had painted it using a brush. The brushstrokes were AWFUL. There were ridges everywhere on this thing. Also, for some reason, instead of removing the hardware, they had just painted over it. Bad.

Seth spent tons of time sanding this thing down for me (thanks, honey!!!) until it was smooth. I removed the hardware and used some Citristrip and a wire brush to take off the multiple layers of paint. I primed the filing cabinet (I think I used this) with multiple light coats of spray primer and sanded in between with fine grit sandpaper. For the paint color, I chose a soft, powdery blue (note that the price listed in this link is for 6 bottles) by Krylon.

I had A LOT of problems with this spray paint. Multiple cans started spraying out white flecks of paint mid-stream (and yes, I had shaken them up VERY thoroughly before and after this started happening) which was infuriating. I then had to sand down those areas and recoat with a bottle that wasn't spraying white flecks yet. It got to the point where I had a few half empty bottles that were all doing this and no more paint.

It might be difficult to see in the photo, but if you look closely, there are raised flecks of paint. So, plan B was to purchase the same paint in a quart size and use a foam roller to roll it on. Ummmm...why didn't I do that to begin with? It covered much better and was much easier.

After reattaching the hardware, here is what the finished product looked like.

I thought it turned out super cute and was tempted to keep it for myself.

I loved the worn copper color of the hardware.

I did not calculate exactly what I spent on paint for this beast. I probably don't want to know, but I would estimate that after the purchase price and paint, we probably put about $35 into this project (not including the hours upon hours of labor sanding and painting it). Considering that 3 drawer metal filing cabinets start at around $100, I priced it at $80. After sitting in the booth for the past 3 months or so, it finally sold for $65. Whomp whomp. I'm not sure $30 was really worth all of the time and energy that we put into it.

A second quick project that I put together was a copper cage pendant light.

It started as this ugly lamp shade that I found on the side of the road. (Yay for free!) I removed all of the fabric and wiped the metal frame down with dilute white vinegar.

I used Krylon's copper brilliance spray paint (yes...Krylon again). It's not cheap spray paint, but I used a coupon at Hobby Lobby. I believe it took me about one and a half cans to cover everything.

Again - I think it turned out cute, but apparently the shoppers at the antique mall are not into the trendy, stripped down, industrialized look. Or maybe it's the copper color. It's still there waiting on a forever home, but I have no doubt I will find a spot for it in our house if it doesn't sell.

I've still got a couple more projects to share with you as my antique booth venture winds down. And the kitchen cabinet reveal. If we ever get there...